Posted on 01/28/2024 6:59:51 PM PST by AbnSarge
Conor MacNessa (Tom Mitchell) will be laid to his final rest at Arlington National Cemetery April 10. Unfortunately it takes that long to be scheduled with full appropriate honors.
I will be there, and invite any Freepers in the DC/VA/MD area who may have known and respected Tom to participate.
PM me for more details.
God love Tom, God Bless and comfort his family, and God Bless you all.
'Til Valhallah, Brother
Prayers up, May God bless
...
He refers to meeting each other again in one of the afterlife destinations in Norse mythology. I searched.
Maybe diaper-butthead will now say, “I’m coming to see ya, soon son”,
I’ma coming soon.
He was a service man, right?
RIP
I know this is common among Marines, so I have to wonder if he was one.
RIP. And thank you for your service.
Tom voluntarily enlisted in the Navy and trained as a Corpsman with an emphasis on field service with the Marines. As a former Marine, I can tell you that the Navy Corpsmen out with the Marines are some of the most respected Navy people out there. The deploy with the Marines, hump the boonies with the Marines, and give their lives for the Marines. Many Navy Corpsman were awarded (most posthumously) the Medal of Honor supporting the Marines.
Tom was seriously wounded in Vietnam while treating a wounded Marine in 1969 in a place known as the Arizona Territory, notorious as not the bush, but the “Big Bad Bush”.
I’m a combat veteran, and we understood one another like few do. Tom was one of the finest people I knew, or ever will know.
Above all, he loved his Family, His Faith, and his Irish Heritage.
It is a phrase honoring one’s warrior sacrifice, which many of us from combat background use as a term of respect.
He, as am I, was a firm and committed Christian (Catholic), who believe in the resurrection and salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Bless him!
And Bless you!
(IConor MacNessa)
Dang. Didn’t know that he was gone.
✝️🙏🛐
How wonderful that you will be there.
Sorry”brother,” No matter what your name is or was, RIP!
Who was he?
Yes, he fought it to the end, but (ironically) January 6 was his last goodbye
God bless him - he will be missed
✝️🙏🛐
Sorry to hear this. Thanks for the note.
Who was he?
A great question.
I met Tom on FR at least 10 years back, because we were geographically close and because we were both incredibly proud of our mutual Irish Catholic Heritage. (Search the mythology of his screen name, Conor Macnessa).
Thomas (“Tom”) Joseph Mitchell of Laurel, Maryland passed away in his home on January 6, 2024.
Tom was born September 15, 1947 to Thomas G. Mitchell and Marie Annette Mitchell in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was sworn into the United States Navy by his father in October 1967. Tom was a veteran of the Vietnam war and honorably served in the 3rd Battalion, Fifth Marine Regiment, which earned the nickname “The Devil-Dogs of the Belleau Wood.” Tom was a recipient of the Purple Heart, an honor that his father conferred on him on August 25, 1969. After his time in the Navy, Tom attended Loyola University and graduated with a B.A. in English Literature. He went on to attend law school at the University of Miami and graduated with his law degree in 1978.
Tom was known to immerse himself in various hobbies over the years including photography, gardening, researching family ancestry, long-distance running, and choral music. In 1976 (at the end of his first year in law school), Tom began training as a long distance runner; by 1985 he had run 13 marathons! At the age of 38, he began studying music and taking voice lessons. Tom developed into a competent choral singer and in 1987 was proud to be accepted into the Oratorio Society of Washington during which time he sang at the Kennedy Center with the National Symphony. For many years, Tom served as the cantor of the 7:30 a.m. Latin Mass at St. Mary of the Mills Catholic church, and eventually joined the Chancel Choir. Most importantly, Tom took pride in being a father to his six children, dutifully providing for his family, and imparting his many experiences to them.
He is survived by his wife, Mary Frances Mitchell; his children, Meghan Marie Mitchell (James Gerken), Thomas Joseph Mitchell (Lily Jane Lovejoy), Mary Frances Harvey (Trevor Harvey), Daniel Patrick Mitchell, David Stephen Mitchell, and John Robert Mitchell; grandchild, Elena Marie Harvey; siblings, Marie Annette Vaughan, Mary A. Mitchell Gigliotti, Joseph A. Mitchell, and Denis Mitchell. He was preceded in death by his parents Marie Annette and Thomas G. Mitchell, and his siblings Anthony Mitchell, Bryson Mitchell, and Michael James Mitchell.
A life well lived.
This is the one guy for whom I will dig out my dress blues, shave my beard and arrive in accordance with AR-670-2 to say goodbye to my brother in arms.
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